"a young age, his family estate was crippled with debt and in disarray shortly after Ricasoli got married. Restoring the estate and its vineyard became his primary focus. Ricasoli traveled throughout France and Germany, studying the latest winemaking methods and brought back with him vine cuttings of new grape varieties. He began to experiment in his vineyard and cellar on which grapes produced the best wines at his estate. His work eventually settled on a blend of three Tuscan grapes-Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Malvasia. Ricasoli choose Sangiovese to be the base of Chianti because it provided the most aromatics. Canaiolo brought"
"be drunk younger and not aged for long. In general, Chianti Classicos are described as medium-bodied wines with firm, dry tannins. The characteristic aroma is cherry but it can also carry nutty and floral notes as well. In 2006, the use of white grapes Trebbiano and Malvasia was prohibited (except in Chianti Colli Senesi until the 2015 vintage). Local laws also require wines to have a minimum of 70% Sangiovese (and 80% for the more prestigious Chianti Classico DOCG). The native varieties Canaiolo and Colorino are also permitted, as are the classics Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to a limited degree."
"while Chiantis that have only red grape varieties will be fuller and richer. While only 15% of Cabernet Sauvignon is permitted in the blend, the nature of the grape variety can have a dominant personality in the Chianti blend and be a strong influence in the wine. Chianti Classico wines are characterised in their youth by their predominantly floral and cinnamon spicy bouquet. As the wine ages, aromas of tobacco and leather can emerge. Chiantis tend to have medium-high acidity and medium tannins. The acidity in the wines make them very flexible with food and wine pairings, particularly with Italian"
"varietal wines can be produced as long as at least 90% of the wine is composed of the same grape. The reds are usually a blend of 65-100% Uva di Troia, up to 35% of Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Pinot noir and Aglianico. The ""roses"" include 65-100% Uva di Troia and/or Bombino nero with the other red grape varieties filling out the rest. The whites are composed mainly of Pampanuto (65-100%) with other local white grape varieties filling out the rest. Red and ""rose"" grapes are limited to a harvest yield of 14 tonnes/ha and must make a wine with a minimum"
"least 90% of the blend. Here Pascale di Cagliari is permitted to make up the remaining 10% in a blend along with Carignan, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, the Bovale varieties and Monica. The variety is grown throughout the Oliena, Nepentedi, Jerzu and Capo Ferrato sub-zones of the DOC with grapes limited to a harvest yield of 13.2 tonnes/ha. The finished wines must attain a minimum alcohol level of 12.5% with special ""Riserva"" bottlings needing to attain an alcohol levels of 13% with at least two years of aging prior to release. An additional ""Superiore"" bottling can also be made with"
"be at least 50% sangiovese, plus up to 50% other local non aromatic red grapes. One of these local grapes used for the Sovana blend is Ciliegiolo. Sovana rosso is for the most part a light wine, although there are reserva wines that receive extended maturation. Sovana also allows monovarietal DOC wines, made from the grapes of Aleatico, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. These wines must contain at least 85% of the varietal in order to allow it to be stated on the bottle #e.g., Sovana Merlot DOC#. Up to 15% of other authorized grapes may be used in the"
"San Gimignano DOC in Tuscany, the boundary of this DOC overlaps with those for the DOCG wine Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Both a regular white Vin Santo and an Occhio di Pernice are permitted with minimum alcohol levels of at least 11.5%. Regular Vin Santo must be composed of at least 50% Malvasia, 30% Trebbiano, up to 20% Vernaccia and up to 10% of other local grape varieties. The Occhio di Pernice must be composed of 70–100% Sangiovese with other local red grape varieties permitted to fill in the remaining 30%. Both styles need to be aged for at least"
"10.5%. Wines labeled as just Pinerolese must contain a minimum of 50% of Barbera, Bonarda Piemontese, Nebbiolo and Neretta Cuneese with Avarengo and other local red Piemontese varieties permitted to fill in the remainder of the blend. For Pinerolese Ramie, Avarengo must make up a minimum of 15% of the blend with Avanà and Neretta Cuneese required to make up an additional minimum of 30% and 20% of the blend, respectively, with other red wine grapes permitted to account up to a maximum of 35%. According to Master of Wine Jancis Robinson, as a varietal, Avarengo tends to produce pale-colored,"
"a varietal that is composed 100% of Uva di Troia. At the very least Uva di Troia must be responsible for at least 70% of the blend with Montepulciano, Sangiovese, and Malbec comprising the remainder of the blend. While the Rosso Barletta DOC is unique in allowing Malbec in its wine, the grape is limited to accounting for no more than 10% of the wine. All grapes destined for Rosso Barletta must be harvested with a yield no greater than 15 tonnes per hectare. The finished red wine is required to have a minimum alcohol level of 12%. The Rosso"
"be produced in both a still, semi-sparkling ""frizzante"" and fully sparkling ""spumante"" style that can be both dry and slightly sweet. All grapes destined for DOC wine production must be harvested to a yield no greater than 12.5 tonnes/ha. The wine is made primarily (at least 90%) from the Cesanese Comune grape (also known as ""Cesanese di Affile"") with Sangiovese, Barbera and the hite wine grape varieties Trebbiano Toscano and Bombino bianco collectively allowed to make up to 10% of the blend. The finished wine must attain a minimum alcohol level of 12% in order to be labelled with the"
"is also allowed. The red blend must comprise at least %50% Sangiovese, with the remaining 50% allotted to any combination of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Ciliegiolo, Lacrima, Merlot and/or Montepulciano. The red wine of this appellation is called Colli Maceratesi Rosso and must comprise at least 50% of the Sangiovese grape with the remaining 50% from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Ciliegiolo, Lacrima Merlot and Montepulciano. Colli Maceratesi DOC Colli Maceratesi is a denominazione di origine controllata wine made in the province of Macerata, in the region of Marche, Italy. The DOC was created in 1975, and allows white and red"
"of 16% and be composed of at least 75% Trebbiano with other local red and white grape varieties permitted to fill in the remaining 25%. The wine must be aged in wood barrels for at least 4 years prior to release.<br> Bianco della Valdinievole DOC in Tuscany, located near the villages of Montecatini and Pescia. The wine must have a minimum alcohol content of at least 17% and be composed of at least 70% Trebbiano. Malvasia, Canaiolo bianco and Vermentino may composed up to 25% with other local white grape varieties permitted to fill in the remaining 5%. The wines"
"to make up to 15% of the blend along with Sangiovese (60-75), Canaiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc (collectively 15-25%) and Merlot (10-20%). Grapes destined for DOC wine production are limited to yields of 10.5 tonnes/ha with the finished wines having at least 12% alcohol by volume. A separate ""Riserva"" bottling can be produced from this DOC from wines that have been aged for a minimum of three years with at least 18 months of that period being spent in wood and the finished wines having an alcohol level of at least 12.5%. In the greater Chianti DOCG, Abrusco is permitted"
"Vin Santo must have a minimum 16% alcohol level and is composed of at least a 70% blend of Trebbiano and Malvasia with other local white grape varieties permitted to make up the remaining 30%. The Occhio di Pernice style must have a minimum alcohol level of 17% and is composed of 50-100% Sangiovese with other local white or red grape varieties permitted to make up to 50% of the remaining amount. The wines are to be aged a minimum of 3 years prior to release with wines aged for at least 4 years eligible to be labelled as ""Riserva"""
"was pulled from the DOC in 1971, first eliminating the white grapes (then compulsory in Chianti DOC) and gradually adding French varieties. By 1975, Tignanello was made with 85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc, and it remains so today. Other winemakers started experimenting with Super Tuscan blends of their own shortly thereafter. Because these wines did not conform to strict DOC(G) classifications, they were initially labeled as vino da tavola, meaning ""table wine,"" an old official category ordinarily reserved for lower quality wines. The creation of the Indicazione Geografica Tipica category (technically indicating a level of quality"
"is different from the Trebbiano Toscano variety of Tuscany, and is also known as the Ugni blanc grape used in Cognac production. The DOC rules place new emphasis on the quality varieties and exclude Trebbiano Toscano, which had been allowed to constitute up to 15% of the blend. All the grapes used for the DOC wine must be harvested to a yield no greater than 14 tonnes/hectare with the finished wine fermented to a minimum alcohol level of at least 10.5%. In the Soave Superiore DOCG, Garganega must also account for a minimum of 70% of the wine, but Pinot"
"The Chianti Classico region covers approximately and includes the communes of Castellina, Gaiole, Greve and Radda as well as parts of five other neighboring communes. The ""terroir"" of the Classico zone varies throughout the region depending on the vineyards' altitude, soil type and distance from the Arno River. The soils of the northern communes, such as Greve, are richer in clay deposits while those in the southern communes, like Gaiole, are harder and stonier. ""Riserva"" Chianti is aged for at least 27 months, some of it in oak, and must have a minimum alcohol content of 12.5%. Wines from the"
"the red wines must contain at least 40% Sciacarello, which together with Barbarossa, Nielluccio and Vermentino must compose a minimum 60% of the total wine blend. The remaining maximum of 40% can come from a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan-though Carignan is relegated to comprising no more than 15% of the blend. Stevenson notes that these wines typically have the same longevity as the wines from Patrimonio. This region-wide designation and its sub-regions account for around 45% of all AOC wines produced in Corsica. Red and rosé wines here must include at least a 50% composition of Nielluccio, Sciacarello"
"The reds and ""roses"" are a blend of 50-60% Primitivo, a 40-50% blend component of Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Negroamaro and Malvasia (with Malvasia being further limited to a 10% maximum). The whites are composed of 50-70% Trebbiano with other permitted local grape varieties, such as Pampanuto, making up the remainder. A varietal Primitivo wine is permitted, provided the wine is 100% composed of the grape with yields limited to 8 tonnes/ha and a minimum alcohol level of 13%. The ""dolce"" wine of the area is composed of at least 85% Aleatico with a 15% maximum blend component of Malvasia, Negroamaro and"
"Sangiovese-dominated, and is composed of between 45% and 70% Sangiovese, up to 30% Canaiolo and/or Ciliegiolo, up to 15% Merlot and up to 15% other grape varieties, such as Vermentino nero, with Aleatico and Moscato only allowed to reach 5% of the blend. Like the bianco wines, the DOC allows two varietal wines: Merlot and Sangiovese. Riserva wines must be aged a minimum of two years. Colline Lucchesi Colline Lucchesi is a denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) for wine, created in 1968, that is located in northern Tuscany, Italy, and centered near the commune of Lucca. This DOC is broken"
"similar to the Dolcetto grape in that it tends to produce fruity, deeply colored wines that are mildly tannic and can benefit from bottle aging. Such is the case with the wine Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda DOC which contains from 85% to 100% Croatina (under its local name of ‘Bonarda’). However Croatina is often blended with Barbera, as in Gutturnio, a wine from Emilia-Romagna containing 30.0% – 45.0% Croatina. It may also be employed as a very minor part of a blend, as is the case with some examples of Amarone. The DOCs which allow the use of the Croatina grape"
"minimum alcohol level of at least 10.5%. Wines labeled as just Pinerolese must contain a minimum of 50% of Barbera, Bonarda Piemontese, Nebbiolo and Neretta Cuneese with Avanà and other local red Piemontese varieties permitted to fill in the remainder of the blend. For Pinerolese Ramie, Avanà must make up a minimum of 30% of the blend with Avarengo and Neretta Cuneese required to make up an additional minimum of 15% and 20% of the blend, respectively, with other red wine grapes permitted to account up to a maximum of 35%. Additionally, a varietal style of Avanà can be produced"
"primarily Sangiovese (60-70%) with Pollera nera, Canaiolo and Ciliegiolo collectively making up 15-40% of the blend and other local red varieties permitted up to a maximum of 25%. Grapes destined for the DOC wine must harvested to a yield no greater than 12 tonnes/hectare with the finished wine needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 11.5%. A ""riserva"" bottling can also be produced with wines that attain at least 12.5% alcohol level and are aged a minimum of two years prior to release. Over the years Pollera nera has been known under a variety of synonyms including"
"Pinot nero, Chardonnay, Malvasia, Ortrugo, Pinot grigio and Sauvignon blanc. In order to qualify for this permission, a wine must be composed of at least 85% of the grape that is to appear on the label. An exception is the local grape Ortrugo which must compose at least 90% of the wine. Among the other grape varieties grown in the Colli Piacentini, which can not be varietally labeled, are Trebbiano Romagnolo, Bervedino, Verdeca and Moscato bianco. Colli Piacentini The Colli Piacentini (""Hills of Piacenza"") is an Italian wine region located at the western end of Emilia-Romagna. In 1967, it was"
"the large Tarquinia DOC that expands across the Viterbo and Rome province, up to 30% Abbuoto with other local red grape varieties can be blended in the DOC red wine along with Sangiovese and/or Montepulciano which either separate or together must account for at least 60% of the blend and Cesanese which makes up to 25% of the blend. Grapes are limited to a maximum yield of 12 tonnes/ha with the finished wine needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of 10.5%. A ""novello"" wine can also be produced with the same blending requirements and a minimum alcohol level of"
"is a large cross with a CAI summit book. Italian wine, both red, white, ""rose"" and sparkling, under the Taburno DOC appellation comes from vineyards in the foothills around the mountains in Campania. Grapes destined for DOC production must be harvested up to a maximum yield of 13 tonnes/hectare with the finished wines fermented to a minimum alcohol level of 11%. The Taburno DOC is currently a subzone of the Sannio DOC label. Red and ""rose"" Taburno is a blend of 40-50% Sangiovese, 30-40% Aglianico with up to 30% of other grape varieties (both red and white), such as Barbera"
"varieties grown in Brindisi include: The Brindisi DOC produces both red and ""rose"" wines from grapes limited to a harvest yield of 15 tonnes/ha and must produce a wine with a minimum 12% alcohol level. The wines are usually blends made predominantly from Negaroamaro and Malvasia Nera but Sangiovese is allowed to compose up to 10% of the blend with Montepulciano allowed to compose up to another 20% (or 30% if Sangiovese is not included). If it is to be a ""Reserva"", the wine is aged a minimum of 2 years before release and must attain a minimum alcohol level"
"the nearby town of Ostuni. The primary grape variety of the DOC classified red wine is Ottavianello (also known as Cinsaut in France), with the wine sometimes labeled as ""Ostuni Ottavianello"". Ottavnianello must comprise at least 85% of the blend. Up to 15% may consist of Negroamaro and/or Malvasia Nera and/or Notar Domenico and/or Sussumaniello grapes. The white DOC classified wine, Ostuni Bianco, is composed of a blend of mostly Impigno and Francavilla. Impigno must account for at least 50% of the blend with Francavilla usually comprising the remainder. DOC regulations also permit an inclusion up to 10% of Bianco"
"must be aged for at least 3 years with the wines that have received at least 4 years of ageing permitted to label themselves as ""Riserva"".<br> Val d'Arbia DOC in Tuscany, this DOC includes some of the Chianti zone that extends into the Siena Province. The wine must have a minimum alcohol level of 17% and be aged for at least 3 years in wood. The wine is composed of 75–85% Trebbiano, 15-25% Malvasia and up to 15% of other local white grape varieties.<br> Vin Santo di Montepulciano DOC in Tuscany, like the Sant'Ántimo DOC the boundaries for this DOC"
"Chianti Classico and is produced with a blend of Trebbiano and Malvasia Bianca. Red and rosé styles are also produced mostly based on the Sangiovese grape. The wines are aged in barrels for a minimum of three years, four if it is meant to be a ""Riserva"". Tuscany's 42 DOC and 11 DOCG are spread out across the region's ten provinces. Brunello is the name of the local Sangiovese variety that is grown around the village of Montalcino. Located south of the Chianti Classico zone, the Montalcino range is drier and warmer than Chianti. Monte Amiata shields the area from"
"and the whites and ""roses"" fermented to 11%. Red Cilento wines are a blend of 60-70% Aglianico, 15-20% of Piedirosso and/or Primitivo, 10-20% Barbera and up to 10% of other local red grape varieties. The whites are a blend of 60-65% Fiano, 20-30% Trebbiano, 10-15% of Greco and/or Malvasia bianca with up to 10% of other local white varieties. The ""roses"" are blends of 70-80% Sangiovese, 10-15% of Piedirosso and/or Primitivo and up to 10% of other local red grape varieties. A separate varietal Aglianico can also be produced under the Cilento DOC provided that at least 85% of the"
"prohibited in Chianti Classico. Chianti Classico must have a minimum alcohol level of at least 12% with a minimum of 7 months aging in oak, while Chianti Classicos labeled ""riserva"" must be aged at least 24 months at the winery, with a minimum alcohol level of at least 12.5%. The harvest yields for Chianti Classico are restricted to no more than . For basic Chianti, the minimum alcohol level is 11.5% with yields restricted to . The aging for basic Chianti DOCG is much less stringent with most varieties allowed to be released to the market on 1 March following"
"jammy red wines from Sicily and Apulia to add color and alcohol to the blend—an illegal practice that did little to improve the quality of Chianti. From the 1970s through the 1980s, a revolution of sorts spread through Tuscany as the quality of the Sangiovese grape was rediscovered. Winemakers became more ambitious and willing to step outside DOC regulations to make 100% varietal Sangiovese or a ""Super Tuscan"" blend with Bordeaux varietals like Cabernet and Merlot. Today there is a broad range of style of Chianti reflecting the Sangiovese influence and winemaker's touch. Traditional Sangiovese emphasize herbal and bitter cherry"